A prickly shrub or thorny plant, especially a wild rose or bramble with sharp thorns.
From Old English brere and Old Norse brjórr, likely from Proto-Germanic roots meaning 'cutting' or 'sharp.' The plant itself defined the word through its most notable feature.
Brier bushes are why Sleeping Beauty needed a prince to hack through thorns—these plants were real obstacles in medieval landscapes that people had to physically fight through.
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